This reindeer painting is just adorable! I love the different perspective of the reindeer on an angle looking up at the beautiful snowflakes. This is such a fun and unique Christmas art project for kids to make!
A great multimedia art project that will have kids painting with acrylics and using a watercolor resist technique. Take a look at my collection of Christmas arts and crafts for more amazing Christmas project ideas!

We love exploring different painting techniques. Take a look at my collection of painting ideas for kids for more fun and creative art projects to try!
For another fun reindeer art project, take a look at these reindeer painted rocks!
Create your own reindeer painting
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Supplies
- Reindeer printable available in my shop
- White cardstock
- Acrylic paint in brown, black, white, pink and red
- Watercolor paint – we used liquid watercolors but you can use whatever type of watercolors you have
- White oil pastel
- Pencil
- Paintbrushes
- Paint palette
Instructions to make your reindeer art
1. First, decide if you will use one of the printable templates for your reindeer painting. Print the template out onto white cardstock. You will need to print it out smaller so that everything fits on the paper. Simply extend the lines for the head of the reindeer to the bottom of your paper after it’s printed.
Skip down to step 2 if you are using the fully drawn template.
If kids want to draw their own reindeer, then you will need a large plastic lid or cardboard circle template to start.

How to draw your own reindeer
Use a large plastic lid as a guide to draw the reindeer head in the bottom left corner of your paper. You want the head to look like it’s only partway on the paper like in the photo above.
Next, draw in the eyes looking up, a big red nose, a mouth, and the ears. Remember to draw the inside of the ears that will be painted pink.
Finally, draw in the antlers.
Start your reindeer painting
2. Use a white oil pastel to draw snowflakes and falling snow on your paper. Remind kids to press hard with their pastel, this will produce the best results.

3. Mix up your watercolor paint for the background. We used liquid watercolors for this step, I love how bright they are. Kids can choose any color background they like.
Using a flat brush, paint the background with your watercolor to reveal your snowflakes! Try and paint around your reindeer as much as you can, but it’s ok if some of the paint gets into the reindeer, the brown paint will cover everything up.
Let the paint dry before moving on.

Kids will also love: Easy Watercolor Christmas Cards
4. Using a smaller round brush, paint the head of the reindeer with brown acrylic paint. To make things easier, outline the head and face with the brown first and then paint everything in like in the photo above.
Let the brown paint dry completely.

5. Paint the reindeer’s eyes with white paint, using a very small detail brush. Two coats of white paint may be needed depending on the type of paint you have. Once the white is dry, add in the black detail of the eyes.
Adding the black detail to the eyes could also be done using a black marker or paint pen to make things a bit easier for younger kids (or even older kids!).
6. Use bright red acrylic paint for the nose and pale pink for the inside of the ears.

7. The pencil drawing of the mouth most likely was covered up by paint, so draw in another mouth with a pencil. Paint the mouth with black paint using a very small detail brush or try using a black marker or paint pen.
8. Finally, paint in the antlers. We used black paint mixed with a bit of dark brown for the antlers.

This reindeer painting is so cute and was so fun to make! I love that it can be adapted for younger kids if you use one of the templates. Each reindeer will be unique!
We have made a couple of paintings in this same style for different holidays and seasons. Take a look at this sweet Easter bunny painting, this adorable Valentine’s Day panda art project, and this fun polar bear winter painting for more fun ideas!
>> CLICK HERE TO GET THE PRINTABLE REINDEER TEMPLATES AND PDF VERSION OF THIS ART PROJECT.

A PDF that is perfect for printing and projecting onto a whiteboard in the classroom for kids to follow along! PDF includes a lesson plan overview, materials needed, step-by-step instructions and photos, and two printable reindeer template options.
More art projects kids will love
Mixed Media Christmas Tree Art Project

The Ultimate Collection of Amazing Art Projects for Kids

Follow me on Pinterest for more amazing project ideas.
Pin this Christmas art for later

The Most Adorable Reindeer Painting for Kids to Make

This reindeer painting idea for kids is just the cutest! Kids will have fun painting their reindeer looking up at the falling snow.
Materials
- Reindeer printable (optional)
- White Cardstock
- Acrylic paint in brown, black, red, pale pink and white
- Liquid watercolors
- White oil pastel
Tools
- Paintbrushes
- Paint palette
Instructions
- If you are using one of the templates I have provided, print it out onto white cardstock. You will need to print it out smaller so that everything fits on the paper. Simply extend the lines for the head of the reindeer to the bottom of your paper after it's printed.
- If kids want to draw in their own reindeer, then you will need a large plastic lid or cardboard template to start.
Use the lid as a guide to draw the reindeer head in the bottom left corner of your paper. - Draw the reindeer face next with a pencil. Draw the eyes looking up towards the falling snow, a big red nose, and a mouth.
Draw in the ears, making sure to draw the inside of the ear that will be painted pink.
Finally, draw in the antlers. - Use white oil pastel to draw the snowflakes on your paper. Remind kids to press hard with their pastel, this will produce the best results.
- Mix up your watercolor paint for the background. We used liquid watercolors for this step, I love how bright they look!
Kids can choose any color for the background that they like. This will help to make each reindeer unique.
Paint the background with your watercolor paint to reveal the snow!
Let the paint dry before moving on. - Outline the reindeer head and face features with brown acrylic paint and then fill in the head with a small brush. Do this step slowly and carefully, so the brown paint doesn't get into the reindeer's eyes and nose.
Let the paint dry completely. - Paint the eyes white and let it dry. You may have to paint two coats of white. Use a very small detail brush for this step.
- Paint the black details of the eyes with black paint or try using a black sharpie or paint pen to make things a bit easier for kids.
- Paint the nose with bright red paint and the inside of the ears a pale pink.
- Draw in the mouth again with a pencil and paint it black or use a sharpie or paint pen.
- Finally, paint the antlers. We painted our antlers using black acrylic paint mixed with some dark brown.
Marie
My Grade 3 class did this activity! We used construction paper for the reindeer instead of painting, as it was easier. They turned out beautifully! Thank you for another fantastic project!
ProjectswithKids
That sounds like a great idea! I’m so glad your class enjoyed the art project, thanks for sharing! 🙂
Rachel Solum
Where can I find the reindeer template?
ProjectswithKids
Hi Rachel, you can sign up for the reindeer template and get access to my free printable library at the bottom of this post. 🙂